


The Woes of a Poet

by shadowfaerieammy



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ALL THE ANGST, Angst, F/M, I'm not sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 03:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9052951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowfaerieammy/pseuds/shadowfaerieammy
Summary: I wrote this as a present for Amarilly on tumblr as part of the Miraculous Ladybug Secret Santa. Merry Christmas Amarilly!
They knew the teacher would be reading their poems, it was a class assignment after all, but they didn't know that they would have to read them in front of the entire class.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a present for Amarilly on tumblr as part of the Miraculous Ladybug Secret Santa. Merry Christmas Amarilly! I hope you enjoy it. I'm sorry I didn't write something happier, but maybe eventually I'll come back to it an write a happy-ending chapter. I just really felt like writing some angst

“She was the sky he vaulted through, beautiful blue.  
He was the earth she bounded across, green moss.  
He tried to explain that his love was true  
But his Lady seemed to be at a loss.  
Her cheeks were painted a soft pink hue  
And the beautiful maiden seemed cross.  
‘I’m sorry but I don’t love you.’”

The classroom fell silent except for the sound of Rose sniffling in her seat. Juleka rubbed her back soothingly.

“Well, thank you for that lovely poem Adrien,” the teacher said with an uncomfortable smile. “You may now return to your seat.”

Nino slammed a hand down on Adrien’s shoulder as he sat down. “Dude that was sweet! Who knew my best bud was a real poet!”

Adrien scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, face flushed with embarrassment. “Thanks Nino.”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you’re next.”

Marinette shot up from her seat, paper clutched so tight in her hands that it crumpled. She walked up to the front of the room, eyes on her feet so she wouldn’t trip; she felt as if she was embarrassing herself enough without tripping and falling face first. They weren’t originally supposed to present these poems but the teacher changed her mind last minute so Marinette couldn’t get out of it.

She cleared her throat a few times to stall. All eyes were on her. Most people were encouraging, sending her thumbs-up. Chloe was, as usual, glaring. Marinette looked at Adrien; bad idea. He gave her his full attention and she melted under his gaze. She began reading if only as an excuse to look away from the same green eyes she wrote about.

“My favorite color is green.  
I like the way it gleams.  
It’s the color of trees  
And the color of leaves  
And to hate it is to be mean.”

Marinette paused to breathe before the next verse.

“How childish!” Chloe shrieked in laughter as she stood from her seat, ponytail flying. “I expected no less from someone who dresses like that.”

The teacher crossed her arms over her chest and sent Chloe a furious look. “Chloe, sit down.” Chloe huffed but obeyed the command. The teacher uncrossed her arms and turned to Marinette, smiling softly. Marinette could feel her pity. “Please continue.”

“There’s more?” Chloe shut up when the teacher sent her another look.

Marinette inhaled deeply, held it for a few seconds, then let it out. She could do this. She was Ladybug after all; she fought monsters on a weekly basis. Reading a poem in front of her class is easy in comparison.

So why did she feel so uneasy?

“Green is the color of fate.  
I see it when I’m up late.  
I think of his eyes  
And drop my disguise  
And let my tears pass through the gate.”

“Green is the color of greed  
It plants a deadly seed  
You dig up the pain  
And hide it away  
And this is the life that you lead.”

The moment the final word left her lips Marinette returned to her seat, head hung low to avoid the looks from her classmates. She didn’t want to know their reactions.

“Thank you, Marinette. Rose, you’re next.” The bell rang. The teacher sighed as the students loudly gathered their belongings. “You’ll be first next class Rose. Everyone remember to hand in your poem on the way out.”

“So, what was that all about?” Alya asked when they left the classroom, swept up in the commotion of the hallway.

“Nothing!” Marinette squeaked. “I wrote it based on a, um, comic I read! Yeah, a comic!”

Alya raised a brow skeptically. “Girl we both know you don’t read comics.”

Marinette floundered for an answer. She could explain that part of it was about Adrien but of course she couldn’t explain that another part of it was about being Ladybug. Thankfully, Marinette was lucky enough to earn a distraction.

Adrien called out to Marinette and jogged lightly to catch up to the two girls. He smiled genuinely, the way he never did in photoshoots, and Marinette broke down. The hand he placed on her shoulder only jumbled her thoughts more.

“Your poem was really good Marinette. I didn’t know you were a writer.” Adrien’s smile slipped for a moment before he plastered on a plastic replica. Marinette, even in her dysfunctional state, noticed the shift. “Wow, you really are multi-talented.”

Marinette sputtered and made a dismissive gesture, waving her hand at him. “Pshh no it’s nothing compared to you you’re great at everything.”

Adrien blushed and removed his hand from Marinette’s shoulder to scratch the back of his neck. “I’m really not but thank you.”

Nino came over and cut the conversation short. He dragged Adrien away for “a radical afternoon of musical magic,” which translates to Nino testing his music on Adrien and foolishly expecting an honest opinion. The boys said their goodbyes and left Marinette alone with Alya.

“Wow, look at the time!” Marinette pretended to look at an obviously imaginary watch on her wrist. “I totally forgot that my parents want me home to help in the bakery. Bye Alya!” She waved and ran away before Alya could try and stop her.

When she got home, Marinette got some cookies from the bakery and released Tikki in her room. She floated next to the bed with a cookie as big as her while Marinette, face down on the bed, moaned and groaned about English class.

“I can’t believe I had to read that out loud in front of the whole class! I’ll never live this down.”

“But Marinette, it went well! Even Adrien liked it.”

Marinette rolled onto her back. She clutched a cat head pillow to her chest and sighed dreamily. “Adrien’s poem was amazing.” She pouted and clutched the pillow dangerously tight. “I just wish I knew who he was writing about.”

“It seemed to me like it was about Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

Marinette shot up, nearly headbutting Tikki. “No way! He can’t know about…” She trailed off. Marinette had to bite her lip to keep from crying; Ladybug missed her partner.

Alone in his mansion Adrien was thinking the same thing.

“Hey, at least you have me,” Plagg said around the slice of cheese in his mouth.

Adrien sat in his chair, elbows on the desk and chin propped in his hands, staring at the LadyBlog. “I really messed up this time Plagg. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her.”

“That’s what I told you in the first place kid but you didn’t listen.”

Adrien sighed and dug through his bag for his poem. He’d forgotten to hand it in at the end of class, or maybe a part of him did it on purpose because he didn’t want his teacher dissecting his feelings like an assignment. At first the poem was for that purpose, an assignment he could hand in for class credit, but it developed into much more than that. He hadn’t meant to reveal so much. And now that the whole class heard it he could never keep it for himself.

It’s already out there, he thought, I might as well hand it in next class and say that I forgot. Since I already read it aloud she might not take points off.

A crash sounded outside and a bicycle broke through Adrien’s window. Adrien grabbed Plagg, making him drop a chunk of cheese on the floor, and hid in the bathroom to transform. “Why did it have to be today?”

By the time Adrien made it outside undetected by the Agreste mansion security, the akuma had made it all the way to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Tom and Sabine were standing outside the smashed bakery but there was no sign of Marinette.

Chat landed next to them, frightening both Sabine and Tom. ”Where’s your daughter?”

Sabine shook her head. “Alya ran off after the monster and Marinette ran off after her. Please make sure they’re okay.”

He forced a smile. Why did Alya always have to put herself in the way of trouble? “Of course, maam.” He put a hand on each of their shoulders to reassure them before bounding off after the monster that he had still yet to see.

Instead of finding the monster, he launched himself straight into the path of Ladybug’s yo-yo, effectively tangling the two together midair. Chat’s baton barely kept them in air long enough to keep their fall from becoming truly dangerous.

“Fancy seeing you here, my Lady.” Chat grinned widely at her despite their position tied up on the sidewalk rubble. She cringed and his smile fell. Oh, yeah, he thought. In a small voice, smaller than Ladybug had ever heard him speak, he said, “let’s get you out of this.”

She kept replaying his words in her head while they untangled the web. That voice didn’t belong to Chat Noir. Chat was strong and confident and sassy; He wasn’t reserved or timid or anxious. That was the boy behind the mask seeping through. Marinette thought back to Adrien’s poem, the pain he felt reading it. She wondered how much he really knew.

They fought the akuma without their usual banter. Chat made attempts but they were watered down, empty words without a catty wit behind them. Ladybug did not reply. When they defeated the akuma and Ladybug purified the infected butterfly, they fist-bumped but it was not as usual. Chat Noir held out his fist tentatively, a flimsy fake smile on his face. His hand shook. He looked so desperate that Ladybug could not deny him that. She pressed her fist to his, said the not-so-magic words, and left. The next few battles went the same until Chat stopped bantering and holding his hand out for fist-bumps. He knew she wouldn’t make the first move, and it was hurting her just as much as it was hurting him.


End file.
